Crazy Moebius Explores the Americas: August 2011

Day 26

Current Location: Quebec, Quebec (Canada)

Total Countries visited: 2

Total Miles Driven: 2,245

What a slow start ! Large Marge was quite sick... after three trips to three different shops, she's finally back in great shape. We had to change her spark plugs, change the brakes (they were hitting the metal plate), replace the catalytic converter (it was broken and completely plugged), rebuild all valves of the engine and some more... It was really expensive, but I think it's better that she get fixed now than break down in Central America... Plus she runs good as new now, smoother and stronger than ever (they said that rebuilding the engine gave me back 50 hp that I had lost, plus fuel economy savings)...

And I treated Her Largeness to a very nice upgrade, with 4 brand new speakers and a new stereo system. Whenever I turn her on, she sings along.

So... two week delay. But who cares? That's the good thing with not having a schedule :) I had a great time hanging out with family, doing all sorts of fun activities, eating heart attacks on a stick, and enjoying the great outdoors.

Here are some of the notable things that I did since the last post:

Spent 1 week in Chicoutimi - hadn't done that since I moved out of the country (over 13 years ago).
Played with the sweet little nephew and niece (in 15 minute increments scattered throughout the day, I am not ready for full-time parenting yet!).
Made a couple mechanics richer than Warren Buffett (and increased the Canadian GDP by 2% - recession is over folks).
Attended the finals of the Canadian Strong Man competition (Those dudes were HUGE! I couldn't compete).
Played two rounds of golf (I lost about 25 balls but at least 25% of my shots were good... huge improvement).
Went on a canopy / tree excursion tour... that was quite challenging and reminded me that I need to lose weight (try to lift 215 pounds on a platform 50 feet up in the tree using only your arms... I struggled a bit).
Went fishing with my dad... 7 hours on a boat, not a single bite. It was a gorgeous sunny day though, so I worked on the middle part of my GTL a little bit.

Today I finally leave towards Gaspesie and the Maritime provinces of Quebec... expect a bit more excitement coming soon ! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the following pictures of the last 10 days.

Pro sighting on the golf course.

Help! I'm about to fall!

Fishing with dad.

Beautiful fishing day.

Gabriel and mom making pie.

Me and the kids.

Gertrude has a nice rack.

My twin.

Token Twinkie picture

Cheers!

Day 15

Current Location: Chicoutimi, Quebec (Canada)

Total Countries visited: 2

Total Miles Driven: 1,976 (How ironic? I was born in 1976. To get back to my hometown at exactly 1,976 miles... What does it mean?)

Large Marge Update

Large Marge is on life support. She is hooked up to all sorts of wires and has difficulty breathing. Approximately 50 miles from here she lost all power and I had to putter my way up the hills at 5 mph in order to make it home and to a garage. I don't know yet what's wrong with her but hope that she'll be back and driving soon. In the meantime I'm driving Little Marge (my mom's car).

At least she's in good hands.

Trip update

Sorry folks for taking so long for this first on-the-road posting. I promise to do better - I probably packed too many activities and too much driving in my first two weeks, and not enough time to rest and take care of the peripheral stuff. Need to adjust !

I did so many things in my first two weeks. Took over 300 pictures. Went through 10 states and drove nearly 2,000 miles. The rest of this blog will provide you a brief summary of what I'm done, with picture commentary.

But before I start, I want to share two little experiments I have begun with this trip, two interesting ways for you to track my progress in the future.

1) Daily snapshot - I completely shaved my head and beard on Day 0 right before leaving from Chicago. Every day I am taking a new snapshot of my face to show the daily growth of beard and hair. It should be interesting to see how I look in 2 more weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months...

P.S. All my pictures are posted on the website gallery.me.com/droy006 and on facebook.

Day 0 - I really hate the bald look.

Day 14 - growing fast !

2) GPS logger - I have this great little tool called a GPS logger that tracks my location every 10 seconds or so, then maps it out on Google Earth. That way you (and I) can see everywhere I have been with the logger, on the road or otherwise. If you have google earth and would like to get a copy of my log, let me know and I'll email it to you. Here is a picture of my trip so far (follow the blue line with arrows):

The first 14 days

Day 1: Departure - drove to Cedar Point, Ohio. I found out that Wal Mart is RV-friendly so I parked and slept in the Wal-Mart parking lot for a couple days. Then I took my first shower in the van - it's quite a tiny enclosure, but it works. First shower was very painful... it took me 3 more days before I found the hot water button.

Goodbye Chicago...

She seems to be doing ok.

Bald Man Driving.

Day 2: Cedar Point - Sandusky, Ohio. I love this place! I have always liked theme parks and Cedar Point is by far the best. I did tons of roller coasters and other rides... won a couple fluffies for my nephew / niece, ate the usual carbs, it was just great... except that I couldn't do the ride I wanted to do most... I had waited for over 45 minutes and it broke down as I sat down in it... oh well I guess I will have to come back !

Beautiful park, great rides.

This guy caused too much trouble.

Day 3 & Day 4 - New York, NY. First van issue occurred on the morning of Day 3. Silly me, I had left the lights on all night and the battery was completely dead. Thankfully, I had the foresight (luck) of parking 50 yards from a garage for the night. 30 minutes for a jump, and we were on the road again! Second van issue occurred in the afternoon of Day 3... again an issue I created. about 45 minutes before NYC, we smell something burning in the van. Like, really burning. I could see the smoke in the air, and Twinkie was trying to jump off the van. Ended up that I had forgotten to turn off the light in the back door and it burned through my air mattress completely. Took off the light bulb, it won't happen again. Then I arrived in NYC! I was immediately reminded how much I hated driving in Manhattan. And try parking there with a big van! I finally managed to settle the van & cat at my friend Alex's apartment for a few days, and off to explore the Big Apple! Main events were a comedy show near Broadway, pretty darn delicious chicken and beef kebobs on the street, and the Statue of Liberty.

Approaching the madness

The force was needed here.

Yoda trying to strike a pose.

Day 5 & Day 6 - Cape Cod and Boston, MA. After the craziness of NYC came the beauty of New England... unfortunately Cape Cod was quite rainy and gray, but I still enjoyed it tremendously (especially the delicious breakfast at Grumpy's). I will come back again (when it's sunny!)

Breakfast at Grumpy's... YUM!!!

Cape Cod Bay from Barnstable

Day 7, Day 8 & Day 9 - Maine. I spent many Summers in Maine when I was younger and it is one of my favourite places to be in the Summer. It has entertainment, beach, camping and majestic scenery. Before hitting Maine on Day 7, I stopped at Salisbury Beach, MA to enjoy the cheesy entertainment and delicious cotton candy. After that, I went to Ogunquit, ME for some beach time (the water was VERY cold... but it felt good) and amazing seafood... then finally to Baxter State Park for some hiking and camping. Unfortunately the hiking and camping was very rainy and cold, so I couldn't climb all the way up Mt. Katahdin. I will have to come back, once again (don't worry I'm making a list).

Fun in Salisbury Beach.

They should make this a food group.

Whale on Ogunquit beach.

Straight out of the ocean.

Rainy but beautiful hike.

Ogunquit, ME.

Day 10 until now - Province of Quebec. I crossed the Canadian border at Fort Kent, ME into New Brunswick. Then I entered the great province of Quebec a few minutes later. For the next few days I travelled through Eastern Quebec through Riviere-du-Loup alongside the St. Lawrence seaway, both sides of the Saguenay river with its gorgeous little villages, gorgeous Quebec City and my home town of Chicoutimi. I don't know why it took so long to discover how beautiful my home country is. Quebec has unbelievable sceneries everywhere you look, and I am lucky to be from there.

Petit-Saguenay under the sun.

Deep thoughts - Saguenay river.

Welcome to Canada!

The way it was all intended.

Ste-Rose-du-Nord

Chicoutimi, 5 minutes from home.

Day 15 - Chicoutimi, Quebec. Home, sweet home. I am going to stay here all week while Large Marge is getting fixed, and will take advantage of this opportunity to reconnect with my roots, rest a little, hang out with friends and family (going fishing tomorrow with my dad - yay!) After that I will hit the Maritime Canadian provinces starting with New Brunswick. See you then !